Wing Lok Chan is all about providing exceptional customer support and guidance. He’s been at VMware for a decade, first as a Senior Consultant and now as a Senior Technical Adoption Manager, which helps him build meaningful relationships with his customers and streamline complex implementation projects.
“I’m always happy to put my consultant cap on to understand a customer’s needs based on what they’re working with,” said Wing Lok. “As a TAM, I tailor my approach to the customer’s unique needs, which the customer really appreciates.”
VMware’s Technical Adoption Management (TAM) service is the new iteration of the Technical Account Management service, and it’s now embedded within VMware Success 360. It offers all the same benefits as the previous model with the bonus of success planning—providing a more holistic approach to helping organizations maximize investments, identify cost savings, and drive innovation, growth, and long-term success.
While success planning is new to the TAM service, Wing Lok has been doing this for his customers for a long time, thanks to his background as a consultant. He collaborates closely with his customers to help them understand their business and IT objectives.
Success planning for financial services
Wing Lok acts as a trusted advocate and expert to his four customers—two in utilities, one in Telco, and one in the Financial Services Industry (FSI)—sharing best practices and encouraging the adoption of VMware solutions. Most notably, he spearheaded a migration project for his FSI customer, successfully balancing a tight timeline, limited budget, and strict government regulations.
“I volunteered to do an assessment, ran a discovery workshop, and finally developed an end-to-end upgrade plan for their entire infrastructure,” Wing Lok said. “I also acted as an advisor for their upgrade, so whenever they hit a wall or didn’t know how to proceed, I was there to assist and provide guidance.”
It was important to provide them with the necessary knowledge and capabilities to embark on the upgrade journey successfully, so Wing Lok brought his consultant expertise to the table to assess this client’s skill set and training needs. He spent three months putting together the upgrade plan, which provided tailored recommendations for the technical capabilities and activities needed for success. As a result, they were able to upgrade most of their systems within a short nine-month timeframe.
“Most of their systems underwent successful upgrades, except for critical ones that require careful planning due to banking regulations and government requirements. Those need time and planned downtime to slowly migrate to the new version,” Wing Lok said.
Another obstacle for Wing Lok was his limited access to his customer’s network, which meant collaborating closely with the team, coordinating dedicated time slots, and accommodating the client’s ongoing daily operations. Most of the team had basic skill sets for the implementation project, but at times they needed a bit more help planning upgrades or handling specific components.
“I was there to guide and support them throughout the process to help keep them on track,” Wing Lok said. “This entire process took place during the pandemic, which meant lots of video calls—daytime, nighttime. But, despite the challenges, it was quite a good experience for everyone.”
Ultimately, Wing Lok’s favorite part of the job is when his customers are happy with the outcome. He’s helped them with many tasks, from resolving issues to enabling new technologies, enhancing systems, and reducing their capacity or usage.
“I also enjoy helping them navigate potential challenges like security updates and finding ways to simplify their daily operations. Scripting is one approach that can greatly contribute to streamlining their work. Those moments are my favorite part of the job.”
When he’s not on video calls, Wing Lok spends as much time outdoors as possible in his home base of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He enjoys hiking, running, walking, and cycling—anything under the sun. He also has his own blog and contributes articles for the VMware blog.
“Blogging helps us share insights within the community,” Wing Lok said. “There are moments when I come across interesting solutions, like creating a script that can assist customers with specific tasks. Sharing these ideas with a wider audience allows others to benefit from them. I hope someone will find one of my scripts useful and adopt it.”
Work with a TAM
Wing Lok is a dedicated TAM who goes above and beyond to provide top-notch support and guidance, helping his customers succeed and maximize their investments’ value. You can read more TAM stories on the VMware blog, like the sustainability dashboard Varghese created for one customer, or how Lerpong helps to identify and implement a “big picture strategy” for his customers. According to a study by Forrester Research, 13 organizations that implemented VMware solutions saw a remarkable 4.8x return on investment (ROI) within three years. Try out our ROI Estimator tool to see how much your business could save with a TAM working alongside your team, and talk to your VMware Sales Representative about VMware Technical Adoption Management Services to learn more.
